[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2454 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2454

  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 and title 17, United States 
   Code, to provide greater access to in-State television broadcast 
  programming for cable and satellite subscribers in certain counties.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2019

  Ms. Baldwin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 and title 17, United States 
   Code, to provide greater access to in-State television broadcast 
  programming for cable and satellite subscribers in certain counties.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Go Pack Go Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. CARRIAGE OF NETWORK STATION SIGNALS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

    (a) In General.--Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 344. CARRIAGE OF NETWORK STATION SIGNALS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `cable operator' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 602;
            ``(2) the terms `covered county' and `in-State, adjacent-
        market network station retransmission' have the meanings given 
        those terms in section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code, 
        except that, in the case of a cable operator, any reference to 
        a satellite carrier or a subscriber of a satellite carrier 
        shall be considered to be a reference to a cable operator or a 
        subscriber of a cable operator, respectively;
            ``(3) the term `local market' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code;
            ``(4) the term `local network station' means, with respect 
        to a subscriber and a television network, the network station--
                    ``(A) that is affiliated with the television 
                network; and
                    ``(B) within the local market of which the 
                subscriber is located; and
            ``(5) the terms `network station' and `satellite carrier' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 119(d) of title 
        17, United States Code.
    ``(b) Subscriber Election.--A cable operator or satellite carrier 
shall, at the election of a subscriber in a covered county with respect 
to a television network, provide to the subscriber--
            ``(1) retransmission of the signal of any local network 
        station that the operator or carrier is required to retransmit 
        to the subscriber without regard to this section;
            ``(2) an in-State, adjacent-market network station 
        retransmission; or
            ``(3) both retransmissions described in paragraphs (1) and 
        (2).
    ``(c) Relationship to Local Signal Carriage Requirements.--If a 
subscriber elects to receive only an in-State, adjacent-market network 
station retransmission under subsection (b)--
            ``(1) the provision of that retransmission to the 
        subscriber shall be deemed to fulfill any obligation of the 
        cable operator or satellite carrier to provide to the 
        subscriber the signal of a local network station under section 
        338, 614, or 615; and
            ``(2) in the case of a satellite carrier that has been 
        recognized as a qualified carrier under section 119(g) of title 
        17, United States Code, the provision of that retransmission 
        instead of the signal of a local network station shall not 
        affect the status of the satellite carrier as a qualified 
        carrier for purposes of that section and section 342 of this 
        Act.
    ``(d) Requirement Subject to Technical Feasibility for Satellite 
Carriers.--A satellite carrier shall be required to provide a 
retransmission under subsection (b) only to the extent that such 
provision is technically feasible, as determined by the Commission.
    ``(e) Treatment of In-State, Adjacent-Market Network Station 
Retransmissions by Cable Operators.--
            ``(1) Retransmission consent exception.--Section 325(b) 
        shall not apply to an in-State, adjacent-market network station 
        retransmission by a cable operator to a subscriber residing in 
        a covered county.
            ``(2) Deemed significantly viewed.--In the case of an in-
        State, adjacent-market network station retransmission by a 
        cable operator to a subscriber residing in a covered county, 
        the signal of the station shall be deemed to be significantly 
        viewed in that county within the meaning of section 76.54 of 
        title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
        regulation.''.
    (b) Treatment of In-State, Adjacent-Market Network Station 
Retransmissions by Satellite Carriers.--Section 339 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by adding at the end the 
                following: ``In-State, adjacent-market network station 
                retransmissions to subscribers residing in covered 
                counties shall not count toward the limit set forth in 
                this subparagraph.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(I) In-state, adjacent-market network station 
                retransmissions.--Nothing in this paragraph shall apply 
                to or affect in-State, adjacent-market network station 
                retransmissions to subscribers residing in covered 
                counties.''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as 
                paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting before paragraph (3), as so 
                redesignated, the following:
            ``(1) Covered county.--The term `covered county' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 119(d) of title 17, United 
        States Code.
            ``(2) In-state, adjacent-market network station 
        retransmission.--The term `in-State, adjacent-market network 
        station retransmission' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code.''.
    (c) No Effect on Ability To Receive Significantly Viewed Signals.--
Section 340(b)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
340(b)(3)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ``or to a subscriber who elects under section 344(b), with 
respect to the network with which the station whose signal is being 
retransmitted pursuant to this section is affiliated, to receive an in-
State, adjacent-market network station retransmission (as defined in 
section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code) instead of the signal 
of a local network station (as defined in section 344)''.

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF COPYRIGHT LICENSE.

    (a) Secondary Transmissions of Distant Television Programming by 
Satellite.--Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by adding at the end 
                the following: ``In-State, adjacent-market network 
                station retransmissions to subscribers residing in 
                covered counties shall not count toward the limit set 
                forth in this clause.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(G) In-state, adjacent-market network station 
                retransmissions.--Nothing in this paragraph shall apply 
                to or affect in-State, adjacent-market network station 
                retransmissions to subscribers residing in covered 
                counties.''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (10)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``; 
                        or'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) with respect to an in-State, adjacent-market 
                network station retransmission, is a subscriber 
                residing in a covered county.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(16) In-state, adjacent-market network station 
        retransmission.--The term `in-State, adjacent-market network 
        station retransmission' means the secondary transmission by a 
        satellite carrier of the primary transmission of any network 
        station whose community of license is located--
                    ``(A) in a subscriber's State; and
                    ``(B) in a local market that is adjacent to the 
                subscriber's local market.
            ``(17) Covered county.--The term `covered county' means, 
        with respect to an in-State, adjacent-market network station 
        retransmission to a subscriber, any county to which both of the 
        following apply:
                    ``(A) The county is one of the following counties 
                in the State of Wisconsin: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, 
                Burnett, Douglas, Dunn, Florence, Iron, Pierce, Polk, 
                Sawyer, St. Croix, or Washburn.
                    ``(B) The county is not in the local market of any 
                television broadcast station--
                            ``(i) that is affiliated with the same 
                        network; and
                            ``(ii) whose community of license is 
                        located in the subscriber's State.''.
    (b) Secondary Transmissions of Local Television Programming by 
Satellite.--Section 122(a) of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting after ``under 
        paragraph (1)'' the following: ``(or in-State, adjacent-market 
        network station retransmissions instead of secondary 
        transmissions under that paragraph, in accordance with an 
        election under section 344(b) of the Communications Act of 
        1934)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting after ``under 
        paragraph (1)'' the following: ``(or in-State, adjacent-market 
        network station retransmissions instead of secondary 
        transmissions under that paragraph, in accordance with an 
        election under section 344(b) of the Communications Act of 
        1934)''.
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